Several Methods of Factoring

--A polynomial is factored completely when it is expressed as the product of a monomial and one or more prime polynomials .	Guidelines for Factoring Completely 1) Factor out the greatest monomial factor first. 2) Look for a difference of squares . 3) Look for a perfect square trinomial . 4) If a trinomial is not a square , look for a pair of binomial factors. 5) If a polynomial has four or more terms , look for a way to group the terms in pairs. 6) Make sure that you check that each binomial or trinomial factor is a prime . 7) Check your work by multiplying the factors .
Factored Completely	Guidelines for Factoring Completely
Guidelines for Factoring Completely Flow Chart Style Factor out the greatest monomial factor	Example 1: Factor completely:
Factoring Flow Chart	Example 1
Example 2: Factor completely:	Example 3: Factor completely:
Example 2	Example 3
Example 4: Factor completely:	Homework: page 228 Oral Exercises (7-12 all) page 228 Written Exercises (7-18 all) ** Answers will be on the web.
Example 4	Homework